Miami Football Royalty: Four Hurricanes Honored as All-Time AP All-Americans

The ACC was well represented on a newly released list of all-time AP All-Americans. And Miami in particular was well represented tied with Pitt for the most total players on the list of the conference teams with four – Safety Ed Reed was on the first team with OT Bryant McKinnie, DT Warren Sapp and S Bennie Blades on the second team. FSU has two on the list, with North Carolina and Virginia Tech having one apiece.

Reed, of course, was a legendary Canes safety from 1998-2001 who famously decided to return for his senior year and helped guide Miami to a national title before becoming an NFL star. His leadership … and ball hawking/defensive touchdowns are legendary. In all he played 49 games at Miami (41-8 record) and had 21 interceptions (four returned for TDs) along with four blocked punts. He’s a member of Miami’s Ring of Honor and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2018.

McKinnie was a JUCO arrival who was a two-time All-American in 2000 and 2001 and was a key piece of the team’s 2001 national title. He played in 24 games over his two-year Canes career and won the 2001 Outland Trophy and was eighth in Heisman Trophy voting that year. McKinnie was inducted into the Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 2012 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2023.

Sapp played at Miami from 1991-94 before going on to star in the NFL. In ’94 he won the Lombardi Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, and Bill Willis Award, and was a consensus All-American (84 tackles, 10.5 sacks). He finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting and was so dominant that Miami coaches reportedly had to take him out of practices for the offense to be able to get things done. A Miami Sports Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame inductee, he won not just a national title with the Canes but also a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Blades (1985-87) helped lead Miami to the 1987 national title and was a consensus All-American twice while winning the Jim Thorpe Award in his final season. He had 19 career interceptions and was inducted into the Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 2010 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

Ah, the good old days.

ACC Teams with Players Named to All-Time AP All-America Team

First-Team Offense

WR – Larry Fitzgerald, Pitt (2003)

OT – Bill Fralic, Pitt (1982-83-84)

PK – Sebastian Janikowski, Florida State (1998-99)

First-Team Defense

DE – Hugh Green, Pitt (1978-79-80)

CB – Deion Sanders, Florida State (1987-88)

S – Ed Reed, Miami (2000-01)

Second-Team Offense

OT – Bryant McKinnie, Miami (2001)

RB – Tony Dorsett, Pitt (1976)

Second-Team Defense

DE – Bruce Smith, Virginia Tech (1984)

DT – Warren Sapp, Miami (1994)

LB – Lawrence Taylor, North Carolina (1980)

S – Bennie Blades, Miami (1986-87)

*Maryland’s Randy White (DE), an AP All-America First-Team selection in 1974, was named to the First-Team Defense. White was named an ACC Football Legend in 2006 and is a member of the ACC 50th Anniversary Team, as Maryland was part of the ACC from 1953 to 2014.